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Slipper: Labor hits back

Phillip Coorey, Louise Hall

Speaker of the House Peter Slipper during question time. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

THE federal government has accused former aides of Peter Slipper, a News Ltd journalist, the former Howard government minister Mal Brough and other senior Queensland Coalition identities of formulating a sexual harassment claim with the aim of destroying the Speaker.

Following a Federal Court hearing yesterday about sexual harassment allegations against Mr Slipper by his former aide James Ashby, the Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, said the action was a politically motivated abuse of process.

''The Commonwealth strongly believes that this process has been one which is really for an ulterior purpose, not for purposes of an ordinary workplace complaint,'' she said.

James Ashby, a former advisor to Peter Slipper.

''A number of other participants other than the applicant [Mr Ashby] were party to formulating this complaint with the clear intent of publicising it before it was filed, with the clear intention of harming Mr Slipper and advantaging his political opponents.'' The Commonwealth will test its abuse-of-process application claim on July 23.

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Ms Roxon said Commonwealth lawyers had obtained ''a vast amount of material'', including text messages and phone records, which are contained in an affidavit filed with the court.

''It will be clearly shown … that there were in fact clear intentions to harm Mr Slipper and to bring his reputation into disrepute and to assist his political opponents and that was the purpose for the bringing of this claim,'' she said.

News Ltd journalist Steve Lewis. Photo: Ben Rushton

Mr Ashby's lawyer, Michael Lee, SC, argued yesterday his client had not launched legal action for any financial or political purpose, but to seek relief from the court following the alleged sexual harassment and to ensure other staff members were not subjected to similar conduct.

Mr Lee said claims that Mr Ashby had ulterior motives would be contested on July 23.

Mr Slipper defected from the Liberal National Party last year to become Speaker and buttress Labor's slender majority in the House of Representatives.

Former Liberal Minister Mal Brough. Photo: Glenn Hunt

He stood aside as Speaker in April after Mr Ashby lodged a sexual harassment claim and accused him of rorting taxpayer-funded Cabcharges. He has since dropped the Cabcharge accusations, which are being looked at separately by the Federal Police.

Yesterday the court heard allegations that Mr Ashby and another media adviser, Karen Doane, worked to undermine Mr Slipper while they were on his staff by leaking information to the News Ltd journalist Steve Lewis, and to Mr Slipper's political rivals, including Mr Brough.

Mr Brough, who met Mr Ashby three times before the court action was lodged, confirmed on Thursday he was seeking LNP preselection for Mr Slipper's Sunshine Coast seat of Fisher.

Julian Burnside, QC, for the Commonwealth, told Justice Steven Rares that mobile phone records showed Mr Ashby and Ms Doane ''were working together to undermine Mr Slipper when they were still working for him''.

Mr Burnside alleged that the two advisers ''provided sensitive material'' to Mr Lewis and ''politically sensitive information'' to Mr Brough.

Mr Burnside said the lawsuit was an abuse of process because it had been brought ''to damage Mr Slipper and help his political opponents''.

David Chin, the barrister for Mr Slipper, told the court Mr Ashby's lawsuit was designed to cause ''political and reputational damage'' to the Speaker and for the ''political advantage of his political opponents in the Liberal National Party'', including Mr Brough.

He said there were ''interesting texts'' sent between Mr Ashby, Ms Doane, Mr Lewis and Mr Brough.

He said there had been a ''calculated, orchestrated public relations campaign'' against Mr Slipper and that the Speaker had not had an adequate chance to respond to the allegations before they were splashed in the media.

Ms Roxon said outside court ''there are a large numbers of Queensland LNP identities which are going to be brought up in the course of these hearings and Mr Brough is one of those''.

Mr Burnside said the Commonwealth, as the employer of Mr Ashby and Ms Doane, who are both on paid leave, was considering sacking them and asked for the court's permission to use the text messages to make the decision.

Mr Burnside said the two staff members used ''material they should never have leaked to the press and to former members of Parliament''. He said some text messages referred to paragraphs in the Commonwealth's affidavits.

Mr Lee agreed to provide some text messages to the Commonwealth by noon on Monday.